Fellowship
by Guile Mustang
Summary: Ari Yamamoto, a boy who lived in Shinjuku, was wishing if Draggy from Chrono Cross would come to life and be his friend. It came true, but Draggy was not the only one who came to life... Chapter 3: Draggy made a mess at school and ran away. Ari was panicked, but after meeting Chikara and Starky, he gained the confidence to find Draggy.
1. I Wish

FELLOWSHIP

Main author: Guile Mustang

Co-authors: Legendary Biologist, DarkHorse26

You can check my profile for more information about the story, which is still incomplete. This is inspired by the anime Digimon Tamers, so it is much like the anime, although not completely the same with the anime.

Note: ooo is a line break. Italic is for indicating thoughts and dreams.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Chrono Cross and Digimon Tamers.

ooo

**CHAPTER 1: I Wish**

The sun was a shining disk of white on the blue sky. It sprayed down rays that slanted through the gigantic fossils atop a mossy valley.

Pip was standing in front of the fossils. For him, this sight was fascinating as he had been locked inside a cage all the time since he was born.

"This is all so beautiful!" Pip said, jumping repeatedly in excitement. "I want to see more of this scenery!"

Like a kangaroo, he skipped to his left side, where he could see wisps of fog down the cliff face. Shocked, he squeaked and then skipped to his right side.

"Scary…" he muttered as his heart throbbed quickly.

Suddenly, he heard noise of howling wind coming from his front. Looking ahead towards the source of the noise, he saw a silhouette of a horned dinosaur's head. He tiptoed towards the shadow slowly. He was curious, but also afraid. Who would know that it was really a ferocious beast? After all, he was just a newborn squirrel.

However, his curiosity trumped his fear. He continued tiptoeing, and then started walking. Slowly, slowly…until he decided to skip ahead quickly.

"Wow!"

It was merely a skull of a horned dragon with its toothless maw wide open. Its horns and eye sockets were somewhat cracked. Inside its mouth, there was a swirling portal of white light.

"What's that?" Pip asked.

He skipped towards the swirling gate of light. As he got closer, goose bumps spread across his body as cool wind blew from the portal.

"Creepy... But is this dangerous or not?"

Pip stepped ahead. Looking at the portal, he felt like there was a magnetic force pulling him into it. He skipped back, trying to resist against the force. Unfortunately, when he leapt, the force managed to make him skimming through the air and send him entering the portal. The sight of the mossy valley turned into the sight of a pitch black area with fluorescent green tiles and pillars.

"What's this?" Pip asked silently as he turned his head left and right, looking at the green glow coming from the objects around him.

Suddenly, the green radiance disappeared, and it was now replaced by the sight of a crowded sidewalk. People were walking back and forth there with either briefcases or bags in their hands.

Looking down, Pip saw that the floor was entirely grey, unlike what he usually saw.

"Strange… The floor isn't mossy or craggy… It's just full of smooth grey squares..." Pip said, placing his right paw on the backside of his head.

Suddenly, a leg came down and was about to stomp Pip. He jumped aside and put a paw on his chest whilst letting out a sigh of relief.

"I'm so small here… Luckily I'm not squashed!" Pip said. He then turned and walked towards a boutique behind him.

Standing still in front of the boutique's door, he asked in his mind, _Why aren't the people here carrying big stuffs like axes or swords?_

ooo

Inside the canteen of Shinjuku Elementary, there were only five hanging lamps in the enormous canteen, but thanks to the large number of windows, the sunlight was enough to illuminate the entire area. A few huge air conditioners were attached on the wall, blowing cool air to the entire cafeteria. Thirty rectangular tables were lined neatly in the canteen, just like marching soldiers.

Sitting at one of the tables were two boys. In front of the them, there were two boxes and two plastic boards. One of them is red, while another one is yellow. On one side of the red board, there was a picture of a yellow dragon. Beside the picture, there was a set of colorful chips arranged neatly in eight rows. The first few rows were moderately long, while the last few lines were rather short. On one side of the yellow board, there was a picture of a little cave girl. Beside the picture, there was a set of colorful chips. They were placed neatly, just like the ones on the red plank, but the first few rows were very long and colorful, while the last few were very short.

Ari Yamamoto loved red innate characters from Chrono Cross. Aside from him having Draggy in his red board, he was also wearing red t-shirt, though not with red breeches. Instead, he was wearing a pair of black trousers.

Picking up a red chip from the red plank, Ari said, "Draggy uses Volcano on Leah!"

Ari was battling against Akira Hayabusa, who was a fan of yellow innate. Despite him wearing all black, Akira had Leah in his yellow plank. Unlike Ari, he had a habit of using support elements, particularly attack-boosting ones.

"Leah still has 260 HP left. Now, Leah uses Strengthen!" Akira exclaimed, taking out a red chip from the yellow board.

"Leah's stamina recovery is slow, so why are you using buffs, Akira?" Ari questioned, scratching his head.

"Well, you can't always win without buffs, Ari. You see, I have almost all kind of buffs in Leah's grid," Akira answered, smiling.

Suddenly, the bass noise of a horn shook the eardrums of the Ari and Akira, who immediately covered their ears with their hands. It almost blew off their ears.

"It's been three days since the bell was broken. I'd rather hear the fire alarm than this loud horn. Stingy school society…" Ari complained, standing up.

After picking up the colorful chips quickly, Akira put them and the board into a small box. "Let's go! I don't wanna be late to class… Mrs. Satoko will get mad!" Soon, he stood up and ran off with the box, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

"Wait for me!" Ari shouted as Akira had gone quite far from the spot he was standing now.

No answer. Ari, who trembled upon knowing that he would be late for sure, picked up his board without removing the chips first. However, his hands were so shaky that he dropped the plank to the ground and even the box. The colorful chips were now scattered throughout the ground.

Ari sighed. "What a mess!"

He crouched, but when he was about to pick up the chips, he saw a glimmering rainbow chip amidst the mess.

_What's that? I've never seen that element chip before… Is it the Chrono Cross, just like in the original game?_ Ari wondered.

He picked up the rainbow chip, which radiated rainbow light as he brought it closer to his face. _It is known to be an element that can bring miracles, so...__I'll try inserting it into my board. Who knows that I can get a stronger Draggy? Or better, maybe Draggy will really come alive once I insert this element?_

Ari picked up his red board and inserted the chip into one of the slots. All of a sudden, the plank shone brightly, forcing Ari to squint. However, he insisted to see what was happening due to his curiosity. Although his eyes were partially shut, he could see the red board shrinking into the size of a remote control. The slot where Draggy was had gone; it was replaced with a blank monitor instead. Below the screen, two small rectangles rose with left and right arrow keys printed on them. Beside them, the grid merged into one and spawned a long slim slot. At the lower part of the device, a thin plug emerged.

_What's this strange gadget? Where has the Chrono Cross element gone?_

The light from the gadget abated slowly, until what was left was only the strange item. Picking up the 'remote control', Ari brought it close to his right ear and shook the device. It did not produce any sound to his ear. With his brows drawing together, Ari brought the gadget to the front of his sight.

_Draggy… Where has the character slot gone? Maybe Draggy's data had been stored inside this device?_ Ari asked in his mind.

He pressed the right arrow key and the words 'No Data' appeared on the screen. _Where has everything gone?_

Ari tried hard not to be tearful. This was like a nightmare for him. The board and the chips set were a birthday prize from his parents a few months ago, when he reached twelve. Although the set was not something expensive due to choosing Draggy as a partner character, the meaning behind it was valuable. His parents chose Draggy because they knew that Ari adored this character in the game, and had been drawing some fan arts for the little yellow dragon in his spare time.

_But I must leave this problem for now… If I were late, something bad would happen!_ Ari picked up all the scattered chips and the device before putting them into a box.

ooo

There was nobody in the school hallway, except Ari, who was running hastily. He was lucky that all he had to carry was just a box as he had left his schoolbag inside the class since the morning class. However, he just could not eliminate the negative thoughts in his mind.

_"Late again? Well, after the class, write 'I will not be late again' on the whiteboard until there's no space left!"_

His teacher's words were still clear and echoing in his head. That punishment was really tiring, and it only made him sleepy even faster. Besides, the main cause of his tardiness was _oversleeping_, and being tired would only make him worse. _I hope that Mrs. Satoko is late…_

He ran fast, but his eyes were focused to the wooden planks hung beside the door of a class. _6A, 6B, 6C, 6D… There it is! 6E!_

He kept his feet beating the stone floor in steady speed. He had to reach the class as fast as possible. However, he gradually lost his will to continue running as he got closer to his classroom. He decided to walk all the way to the door after successfully peeking through the windows of his classroom. A woman was standing in front of a scribble-filled whiteboard, speaking while her right hand pointing at the ceiling.

_I'm late, and now it isn't because of oversleeping… How can I explain this to Mrs. Satoko? _Ari gulped whilst walking towards the wooden door of the classroom.

He raised his right hand hesitantly. He could just play truant now, but it came with a price. If he were caught, this might result in him being forbidden from participating the coming finals.

_Ugh, it would be more horrible if my parents found out that I had a problem at school and had to participate the follow-up test._ Ari knocked the door gently.

The door opened, and the teacher, Mrs. Satoko, walked out and glared at Ari with her hands on her hips.

"I was late to this class for five minutes, and then you appear five minutes later after I arrived? Oversleeping again?" Satoko asked.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Satoko! I was in the canteen, and no, I didn't sleep!" Ari bowed.

"Looks like you can't be cured of this bad habit only by writing on the whiteboard. You're not only late for the morning classes now. As a punishment, you must stay outside until my class is over, understand?" Satoko said fiercely, glaring at Ari.

"Y-yes, miss!" Ari stammered as beads of sweat trickled down his temple.

"Fine, and don't play truant unless you want to be in a bigger trouble!" Satoko said aloud as she turned around and walked into the class.

When the door was shut, Ari slumped to the ground. _What a bad day… First I lost everything in my battle board set, then I was late and had to stay outside as a punishment…_

Sitting on the floor and resting his back against the wall, he opened the lid of the box and picked up the gadget that appeared earlier. _I've lost everything…_

He then examined the device closer. _What's this plug…? This looks like a plug for a USB drive…_

He rethought the moment he found the words 'No Data' on the monitor. _USB drive… Data… Is it possible to insert some data into this device? If so, then I can have Draggy back!_

He put the device back into the box and covered it with the lid. He placed the box beside him and then pulled a scratchpad, a pencil, a small pack of color pencils, and an eraser from the pockets on his breeches. _I was lucky that I always brought these stuffs with me! Now, if I'm correct, I can just have a brand new Draggy with me! He needs some modifications…_

Ari began drawing on his scratchpad. _First thing first, Draggy needs to be bigger… Maybe it'll be good if he's about as tall as me… Well, I think if he is standing on two feet just like humans, it'll be cool!_

Forty minutes later, Ari had completed the sketch of the modified Draggy. The winged dragon was standing on two legs, which had three jagged claws protruding from each of the feet. Instead of small arms like in the game, the dragon now had a pair of arms with three sharp claws jutting from each of the hands. His body remained the same with the original: yellow body with blue stripes. Also, the wing-like extensions on his head were still there.

_Once I'm home, I'll scan and save this picture into the gadget… Eh, but maybe the gadget doesn't retain his statistics, so I'll just write it down as well._ Ari turned the page of his scratchpad and began writing. _Well, this Draggy will be stronger than the original, but not too overpowering. Maybe it needs more physical strength and defense… No, I think it will just need more magic-_

A creak, then followed with a yell of a woman: "What are you doing? Why don't you at least ask for permission to get your textbook and read it while waiting until the class is over?"

Ari gasped, dropping his scratchpad and stationery in a moment of shock. After picking up the things he dropped, he stood up and turned to Satoko, who was standing by the door. "B-b-but I d-didn't know…"

"I don't think that telling you to wait outside is a fitting punishment for you, so do one thing for me: write an essay about attitude. You must submit it on Saturday, understand?" Satoko said.

"Y-yes, miss," Ari answered.

"Stay here for ten minutes again. Now you can at least plan what you'll be writing for the essay," Satoko said calmly before turning around and walking into the classroom.

As the door was shut, Ari sat on the floor and began writing on his scratchpad. However, he was far more interested in completing his modification of Draggy than doing his essay. _Fine, Draggy now has less speed, but more physical and magic power… The physical defense is a bit stronger than the original, but the magic defense remains as is. Now, into the tech!_

Ari turned the page of his scratchpad and sat still, rubbing his pencil against his chin. _Cough Drop? Well, this is the original name, but it sounds strange…like a medicine. Fireball? Too generic. Fire Breath? Yet another generic name._

In his mind, he imagined the anthropomorphic Draggy he drew jumping into the air. Raising his head and opening his mouth, the dragon inhaled the air around him. He then lowered his head a bit and released an arrow of flame, which was shaped like a dragon.

"Dragon Flame! That's a good name!" Ari said, but he immediately covered his mouth with his scratchpad. He was afraid that his teacher would suddenly come out again, but fortunately, not.

A few minutes later, Ari heard a loud noise of a horn. _That noise again… But it's time to go home!_ He kept the scratchpad and stationery inside the pocket on his trousers. After picking up the box where he kept the gadget and element chips, he got up. At the same time too, the students from his classroom were pouring out of the class like water.

Looking at this, Ari giggled. _Well, after all, today is Thursday…and Sunday is getting near… But anyway, I can't wait until I get home!_

Soon, Satoko walked out of the classroom and said to Ari, "Don't forget the essay!" She then walked away.

"Yes, miss!" Ari grinned.

As he entered the classroom, a short girl was standing still. She was in a yellow dress and her shoulder-length black hair was tied in a ponytail.

"Yukari? Why haven't you left the room like the others?" Ari asked.

"Because I have something to tell you," Yukari replied, walking closer to him. As she was about to walk past Ari, she whispered, "I know what you've been doing during the punishment. You're drawing a dragon, right? I can see you easily because I'm sitting right beside the window…"

Ari gasped. He thought that nobody would know about what he doing, but it appeared that Yukari knew too much.

"Promise me that you won't be telling anybody about this!" Ari said.

"It's a promise! Anyway, you must do well in your essay and stop imagining things unless you wanna be in a trouble. Bye!" Yukari then walked out of the classroom.

_She's right… Sometimes I fantasize too much…_ Ari said to himself, before walking towards where his schoolbag was.

ooo

Today was not quite a good day for Toshio Yamamoto. For the entire day, he sat still at the checkout counter, hoping for more customers. However, the customers today were very few, and it was possible to count them with all the fingers in both of Toshio's hands. Sitting still, he wondered if he could get more money. Perhaps being a businessman would be good, but no, he was only fitting to be a shopkeeper. Toshio was just a man who graduated from Shinjuku High, and he never had the interest to study more. Besides, it was not easy to get a job at Shinjuku.

Toshio's wife, Michiko Yamamoto, once studied economy. She worked as a businesswoman at Shinjuku, but not anymore as the company she worked for had gone into liquidation many years ago. However, she was content as a housewife. What would be better than being able to live rather fully with light work such as helping Toshio? Besides, she had a child named Ari... Yes, just one son five years after marrying Toshio.

Suddenly, the glass door was open. Toshio stood up, thinking that it was a customer. However, it was Ari who walked in.

"Welcome home, Ari!" Toshio said.

Michiko then followed. "Welcome back! How's school?"

"Dad, mom, I have some works to do!" Ari answered rapidly.

"Homework? Well, you're going to be in secondary soon, right? School will always be busy, but you can do it!" Michiko said.

"I know, but I'm going to do my homework now!" Ari said as he stormed towards the staircase.

"Uh, what's with all that energy? This is the first time I hear that Ari really wants to finish his homework quickly…" Toshio said, his head tilting to the side.

"Maybe he wants to be a top student in the class? Who knows?" Michiko replied calmly, her right palm facing the ceiling.

ooo

Ari pushed a set of small switches on the wall beside the wooden door.

Click!

The Teflon-coated lamps on the ceiling flickered for a moment, but they were then permanently on, emitting white radiance that brightened the room. Ari then threw his schoolbag away to his bed and immediately took out the scratchpad from the pocket in his trousers.

_I'm curious!_ Ari walked towards the fiberglass desk and chair at the northeastern corner of the room, where there were a computer set and a scanner. He placed the scratchpad on the table, and then pushed the buttons on the CPU and scanner, activating all the electronic devices.

Knowing that it took a few minutes for the computer to function well, Ari walked towards his bed and opened the zipper on his schoolbag. He took out the box where he kept the gadget and all his element chips.

Picking up the red 'remote control' from the box, Ari smiled. On one side, he thought that this gadget would enable him to have Draggy as his virtual pet. On the other hand, he was wondering if this device would bring Draggy to life, which he had been dreaming of. Of course, getting a friend, or perhaps a pet to play with, would be fun for someone who was the only child in the family.

When Ari walked back to the desk, the monitor was on. Apparently, the CPU itself contained plenty of data. Even the main screen was almost full of folders and other applications, but Ari had never thought of removing them. He was too lazy to remove the useless data, but aside from that reason, he also believed that sometimes useless data could be useful again one day.

After plugging the gadget into the CPU, Ari opened the lid of his scanner and placed the scratchpad in it, before closing the lid. He then grabbed the mouse. Looking at the monitor, he moved the mouse slowly, resulting in the pointer moving towards the scanner application on the screen.

_At last!_ Ari clicked the 'Scan' button on the pop-up window. After that, there was a noise that sounded like iron scraping against each other. As he waited for the scanner to finish its job, he dreamt of himself throwing a wooden stick away and let Draggy run to catch it. _If this Draggy were real then… But it's okay if he's just a virtual pet…_

Thirty seconds later, the noise stopped. Ari then opened the lid of the scanner, turned the page of the scratchpad, and put it down. _I could just type the statistic into the Notepad program, but… Ah, I'm just trying to be quick!_

After closing the lid of the scanner, Ari clicked the 'Scan' button and waited again. After another thirty seconds, the scanning was complete. _Yes! Now it's the time!_ Smiling, Ari clicked the 'Save' button on the screen and saved the scanned image into the gadget. As he watched the image of some papers flying from a folder to another folder on the pop-up window on the screen, he wondered about what would happen next. Would he receive Draggy as a virtual pet? Or would Draggy really come alive, just like what he had been dreaming of?

The pop-up window disappeared, and another pop-up appeared with a red circle and a white cross on its left side.

"Not enough space? How come?" Ari wondered out loud.

Quickly, Ari clicked 'My Computer' and clicked the 'Removable Disk', before clicking on the 'Properties' on the pop-up window that appeared. His mouth was ajar when he saw what was on the screen. The gadget was unable to hold the files with over a megabyte size.

"No… Why could the gadget only hold 512 kilobytes?" At the same time, Ari felt that his dream was all gone.

He reclined against the back rest of the chair with a wilting posture. First, he lost his board set. Second, he was late to class and had to write an essay. Third, his gadget could not fit in all the images he tried to save. Today had been a bad hair day for Ari.

_It's all useless…_

He stared blankly at the ceiling. In his mind, he wondered how happy he would be if he had a little dragon in his house. After all, he only wished to have someone who would accompany him, just like a brother, sister, or to a lesser extent, a pet.

Suddenly, Ari let out a heave. _It's something childish to think about! I'll just take a nap and forget about everything!_

Soon, he closed his eyes and fell asleep...and dreamed.

ooo


	2. Not Merely A Dream

FELLOWSHIP

Main author: Guile Mustang

Co-authors: Legendary Biologist, DarkHorse26

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Chrono Cross.

ooo

**CHAPTER 2: Not Merely A Dream**

_Black clouds filled the sky as rumbling sounds were audible. Suddenly, blindingly white jags streaked across the dark sky, bringing with them a loud bang. At the same time, inside Yamamoto shop house, Ari snapped open his eyes in a moment of shock. Yawning, Ari got up and walked towards the window._

"_It's going to rain…" he said silently, looking through the window._

_With an expressionless look on his face, he looked down. The rubbish on the street of Shinjuku Residential Area, especially papers and plastic bags, were flying around as the wind blew. However, Ari did not see anybody walking on the walkway._

"_Hmph, nothing interesting… I'll just go back to sleep or perhaps do my-" Before Ari could complete his sentence, mist engulfed the window. "What the heck?"_

_Curious, Ari flung open the window and stretched his neck to see what was happening. Apparently, it was just an averagely thin layer of fog; Ari was able to see what was on the street. To his surprise, there was a girl standing. She was an averagely tall girl in grey t-shirt and jeans. Her black hair was short; about shoulder-length._

"_What is a girl doing at this moment?" Ari wondered out loud._

_He kept looking at the girl, who was still standing. Even after a minute, she had not budged even a bit._

_Feeling weary on his neck, Ari decided to back off. For him, there was nothing interesting with the girl and the mist._

_As he was about to close the window, he suddenly heard a girl's voice saying: "So, it's a Mama Dingo… Hmph, you're nothing but some data that will strengthen Guile!"_

_Mama Dingo…? Guile…? Those names were familiar. No, they were extremely familiar. Mama Dingo was a monster from Chrono Cross, while Guile was a character from the game._

"_They're in the real world? I have to see them!" Ari said, smiling widely as he stretched his neck again._

_Looking down, Ari saw the girl taking out a dark blue device from the pocket on her jeans. The device was about the size of a remote control, with a monitor, arrow keys, and a long slim slot._

_Eyes widened, Ari said, "That looks like mine, except the color!"_

"_Guile! Finish her off!" the girl said coldly._

_As those words left the girl's lips, a silhouette of a long-haired man leapt from the mist. Charging at lightning speed, it rammed and knocked the Mama Dingo away. The shadow stopped, revealing a masked man, whose long light blue hair was fluttering by the breeze._

"_That is… That is really Guile!" Ari said, further stretching his neck to get a better sight of Guile._

_At the same time, the Mama Dingo got up and roared. Jets of fire surrounded her, igniting her entire body. Then she jumped and rolled, turning herself into a huge fireball._

"_That's not a good trick…" the girl said, taking out a blue element chip from a pocket on her jeans._

"_What is she doing? Using element or such?" Ari questioned._

_The girl brought the element chip into the long slim slot and swiped it along the line. "Element Swipe! Nimble!"_

_Blue light engulfed Guile. As the big fireball approached, he leapt to the air, dodging the Mama Dingo's attempt to harm him._

_Seeing the fireball stopping and reverting into the Mama Dingo, the girl shouted, "Now!"_

_Airborne, Guile pulled out a staff from his left sleeve. He closed his eyes and kept silent._

"_Huh? What is he doing?" Ari asked, his head tilting to the side. "I thought someone had to chant when casting spells…"_

_Black clouds packed the sky above Guile. Suddenly, purple jags streaked across the clouds and with a loud bang. They struck and formed an orb of lightning, which then zapped and charged Guile's staff with lightning._

"_Lightning Rod!" Opening his eyes, Guile swung his staff and unleashed a stream of thunder bolt from it._

_The lightning struck the Mama Dingo. She howled in pain as she an explosion of purple electrical current engulfed her. Slowly, her tail started to disintegrate into shimmering molecules. Then her body also disintegrated, and finally, her head._

_Guile looked at the molecules and flew towards them. Like magnet with opposite poles, the sparkling particles flew towards Guile and entered his body._

"_Yes, grow stronger, Guile. We cannot lose," the girl said somberly._

_Looking at the girl's expressionless face, Ari scratched his head. Guile won, but why the girl seemed to be grim? Silently, Ari muttered, "What a weirdo…"_

"_Nothing is left here." The girl turned away as the mist dissipated slowly. "Let us leave this place."_

_Guile landed on the floor quite softly with both of his feet. The girl had begun walking away, but Guile had not. Instead, he stood still and remained on guard, looking to the left and right._

_With a bead of sweat trickling down his temple, Ari gulped. "D-did he know that I've been w-watching the battle?" Slowly, he began retracting his neck._

_Ari knew that Guile was kind and gentle, but he believed that his 'spying' act might just tick off the masked magician. The wrath of a silent person was always more dangerous than the noisier ones, and Ari would rather avoid that._

_Stepping backwards in fear, Ari slipped and fell flat on his back._

ooo

"Huh?"

At this moment, Ari felt like he was lying on something hard and bumpy. He opened his eyes. What he could see now were several Teflon-coated lamps shining brightly on the ceiling. Looking around, he found out that he had been sleeping so soundly that he and the wooden chair had tumbled altogether. In short, everything earlier was…

_Just a dream…_ Ari got up, rubbing his back. His eyes were still half open, but soon, they were wide open when Ari smelled something burning. He looked around to find some threads of smoke were coming out from his CPU and the gadget.

"What the hell! It's burning!" Ari crouched, pulling out the gadget from the CPU in a flash.

The smoke was gone. Ari looked at the monitor of the gadget, and he saw an egg on the screen. The egg was fairly big, with several green spots on it.

"This is Draggy's egg, just like in the game!" Ari shouted in excitement.

Before Ari could do a thing, he suddenly heard a woman's voice calling, "Ari! Dinner's ready!"

"Oh, well… But this is awesome," Ari said, smiling.

ooo

The sky had gone dark blue, with sparkling white freckles scattered across it. A pale white disk was also there, shining brightly whilst sending a beam of light to Shinjuku.

The sidewalk of Shinjuku Residential Area was not as crowded as usual. Most people of course, preferred staying at home or riding a vehicle to walking because there were puddles on the asphalt floor. However, for Yoshino Kobayashi, it was fine as long as she could be alone. She was walking along the pavement, her hands inside the pockets of her jeans. Her face remained blank and sullen, as if she were unsatisfied of something.

_Hmph, I'm hoping that there will be more unusual creatures appearing, so that Guile can grow stronger and I can be an invincible battle board player…_

Yoshino continued walking, ignoring everything around her. However, she could not ignore the few boys and girls who suddenly stopped and looked at her. She stopped, but her face remained as expressionless as usual.

"Hey, this is the famous psychic girl, isn't it?" one of the boys asked.

"She is! Wow, her predicting skill is excellent!" another boy answered.

"No wonder why she is the champion of the 2020 Battle Board Tournament!" one of the girls continued.

"Oh, I wanna be like her!" another girl said.

Yoshino let out an exasperated sigh. _You cannot and may not be like me, you moron! _For her, the last tournament was not much a challenge. She defeated all her foes easily only with Guile board set. But her strategy varied, depending on what her opponents were going to do.

"Find the way by yourselves!" Yoshino yelled as she started to walk.

She did not care what those people were going to say about her. For sure, she had been kind enough to leave a wise message for them; searching was actually something that made her successful in the game. She had been browsing the Internet for some good strategies frequently, but those were not only for her to use against her foes. Truth be told, she also learned much from those and they were what she used for building her own flexible strategy. In short, her strategy was more of _anticipation_ than anything else.

_But still...people will soon know my strategies and defeat me if I don't think of something new..._

ooo

It was dinnertime. Sitting at a round table, the Yamamoto family ate their dinner together. For tonight, the menu was fried salmon fillet and miso soup. Usually, Ari might eat more than usual whenever Michiko cooked this, but today…

_Strange… I thought that my dream was very real… Now, I also have the device that looks like that girl's one…_ Ari wondered with chin in hands, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Ari? What's the matter? Your soup will get cold!" Michiko said.

His mom's voice snapped Ari back to his senses. However, he still found it hard to get out from those thoughts.

Looking at Michiko, Ari spoke softly, "Mom, I'm just wondering…"

"What is it, dear?" Michiko asked.

"I know it's strange, but can a character from a video game appear in the real world? I thought I was dreaming about that earlier today," Ari answered.

Michiko chuckled. "Of course not! It's just a dream, and dream isn't real!"

"If it's true then, I wanna dream about the shop having lots of customers! Or better, I wanna dream of becoming the richest man in this world!" Toshio said jokingly.

"I guess…" Ari replied, hesitation accompanied his voice.

He turned his attention to the bowl of miso soup in front of him. As he took a spoonful of the clear liquid, he wondered what if Draggy would come alive, just like Guile in his dream. He would be very happy to have a friend to play with, but he wondered whether it would come true or not.

Ari could not finish the soup. Silently, he got up and turned around.

"Huh? You're strange today…" Toshio said.

Ari gulped. Yes, he was indeed, weird. In a day, he had experienced lots of strange things. His parents did not know anything, but Ari would rather keep everything secret.

"Nothing. Just wanna continue my work," Ari said.

He then walked to the left, towards a wooden door. He was walking, but like a zombie as his mind was floating. He could not stop thinking about Draggy.

As he opened the door and entered the room, he saw something glowing on the desk. Quickly, he ran towards the light. Apparently, it was…

_The gadget!_ He picked it up, and the light slowly faded. Ari's eyes widened as he looked at the monitor. Remnants of an eggshell were scattered throughout the screen.

"It hatched…?" Ari wondered out loud. "Draggy is born?"

ooo

The wall of the dim room was dark blue, just like the night sky. Consisting of countless squares, the wall was letting out beeps as two women were typing on a keyboard whilst sitting at their desks, which were adjoined.

Standing beside the desk was a blond man in a black trench coat, whose eyes were concealed behind a pair of dark glasses. He was leaning against the wall, his hands inside the pockets of his black trousers. Chisiki Takashi was his name. Standing still, he pondered what he should do now. He disliked the fact that the characters from a video game were appearing, as he believed that they would wreak havoc in the real world.

Suddenly, there was a loud beep. The long-haired woman said, "Foreign Being detected, Mr. Chisiki."

Chisiki turned his attention to the two women, his face remained stern. "Launch a tracer, Ami!"

Ami nodded and typed on the keyboard rapidly, yielding a cacophony of clicking sounds. Soon, amidst the square-filled wall, a small red circle appeared. At first, the circle was as small as the clench of a fist, but soon, it expanded into the size of a human skull.

"The Foreign Being is Realizing at Shinjuku Residential Area," Ami reported.

_Another Foreign Being again... This is perhaps the tenth artificial life form detected in the real world!_ Chisiki let out a humph. _Scums of the other world, I swear that I'll destroy all of you before you can destroy us!_

ooo

At the same time, a red arrow appeared on the center of the gadget's monitor. Like a compass, the arrow spun quickly, and lastly stopped on a direction.

_It tells me to go south… What does this mean? _Ari questioned in his mind. However, he began recalling his dream. _Guile was real in my dream, so maybe Draggy is real… I'll go check it out._

Ari put the gadget inside the pocket on his breeches. He then walked out of his bedroom. As he headed towards the staircase, he saw Michiko was going up.

"Ari? What are you doing?" Michiko asked.

"Um, I'm thinking of taking a walk… I need some ideas for my essay," Ari answered.

It was a lie, but somehow Michiko did not seem to be suspecting anything.

Smiling, Michiko told Ari, "Just don't get home late!"

"Yeah!" Ari then walked down the staircase.

Downstairs, he ran past the shelves of goods. Despite that he knew what would happen if Draggy were really alive, he believed that he could try to teach Draggy not to 'shoplift', and his parents would one day accept him to be in the household.

Outside the Yamamoto shop, Ari took out the gadget and looked at the monitor, where there was a red arrow pointing to his left side. _To the west…_

Ari turned left and walked towards the alleyway between his house and a three-storey building. It was dark with trash cans and a few empty cardboards standing along the path. There was also a street lamp towering, somewhat brightening the alley.

_One wrong step and I may end up making a mess…_ However, Ari's curiosity trumped his negative thoughts. He proceeded to the alley. Carefully, he walked past the line of trash cans. All of a sudden, there was a beep.

Ari looked at the monitor on his gadget, where there was a red X on the screen. "What does this mean? Draggy is around here?"

Looking around, he could not find any clue of Draggy's whereabouts. There were only trash cans and piles of rubbish. He looked up, but there were only stars on the dark blue sky. He looked down, but there was only a metallic panel with a disk on it.

_Maybe he's in the culverts…_ Ari hunched and pulled up the disk, before going down the hole.

Inside, it was just as dark. The only lightings there were a few dim, yellowish wall lamps. It was also silent, save for the sound of dripping water and squeaking rats.

Looking at the monitor on the gadget, Ari gasped. The red X had gone; an arrow pointing to the east appeared instead. "Huh? I guess I'll follow the arrows." Ari followed the directions pointed by the gadget. He obediently followed, until he arrived at a place where it was very short and narrow.

"I have to crawl…" Ari said as he kept the gadget in his pocket.

He crumpled and slowly, he crept into the narrow path and crawled all the way. Grimy water and slimes from the wall managed to cling on his arms. Despite the itch caused by the filth, Ari continued to crawl. He would do anything to find out whether Draggy had appeared in the real world or just his imagination.

Minutes later, he managed to get out of the narrow path. He stood up and inhaled deeply, although he felt heavy on his stomach. He smelled awful, just like some organic rubbish. Looking ahead, there was a fog bank.

"Fog? Just like in my dream…when I saw Guile and the Mama Dingo… Was it an omen?" Ari walked towards the mist. Slowly, a shadowy figure of a winged dragon became vivid. "Draggy…?"

When he was there, he could not see anything other than pure white. He continued walking despite the hazy vision, and only in a few seconds, he finally could see everything clearly. There was a yellow dragon, sitting on the floor with eyes closed. He was fairly big even when he was sitting; he was about as big as a human child.

"Draggy!" Ari called, running towards the dragon. This was indeed, Ari's wish, although the dragon was not like what he hoped. This Draggy only retained the size and bipedal posture that Ari once wanted; other than that, there was no difference.

The dragon opened his eyes, the wing-like extensions on his head fluttering. He looked at Ari and growled, but his face did not look threatening. However, he then sniffed the air and turned his attention to the running rats in front of him.

Rearing back its head, Draggy inhaled as sparks of flame gathered between his jaws.

Seeing this, Ari stopped. "What are you doing? They're just rats!"

"Cough Drop!" Draggy bent ahead and launched a fireball from his mouth.

The burning sphere collided with the rats and exploded. Thick smoke appeared from the scorched spot, obscuring Ari's sight. At the same time, Ari tumbled back and sat on the floor. He was about to get up, but then, he saw a shadow of a dragon that was about his height walking towards him. It was Draggy, who then crouched.

"Draggy! I'm y-y-your…no, I w-was the o-one who w-wanted…uh, wished you to a-appear in the real world!" Ari stuttered, his entire body trembling.

Draggy bowed and sniffed the air around Ari.

"Don't burn me!" the frightened boy shouted, propelling himself backwards with both of his hands.

"Um…?" Draggy's head tilted to the side.

Ari paused and looked at the dragon. _He did not seem to be a ferocious dragon…_

"Daddy…?" Draggy asked.

"What the heck…?" Ari murmured, scratching his head. "I'm just too young to be your daddy…"

"But you can stand and walk, just like Draggy…"

"Well, that's one of the things I hope for when I drew you."

"Draggy doesn't know…"

"Oh, anyway, you can come with me if you want! You know, I've been hoping to see you all this long!" Ari smiled. "You're just born, right? C'mon, I'll take you to my home and…let's play!"

"Play? Draggy wants to play with daddy!" Draggy wagged his tail in excitement.

Ari smacked his own head with his right palm, but he was grinning. Although Draggy called him 'daddy', he was not annoyed, despite feeling strange with it. After all, he was partially involved in bringing the dragon to the real world.

Ari chuckled. "Just call me Ari."

"Ari…?" Draggy blinked.

"Yes, Ari!" Ari smiled. _Good thing is, he isn't speaking with extra 'r' like in the game. Otherwise, he'll call me Arrri! Though this is strange, because I never thought of wishing him to speak without that strange accent._

"Ari! Draggy will come with Ari!" Draggy grinned, spreading his small wings.

"That's right! First, we'll get out of here…" Ari got up. "But the mist is thick!"

"Draggy can light the way!" Draggy said.

"Are you sure?" Ari asked. "I think I'll let this gadget to do the job. It has something like a compass."

Ari inserted his right hand into the pocket on his breeches and took out the device. As he was about to look at the monitor, the device shone. The white light radiating from it cleared the fog bank surrounding Ari and Draggy.

"Why the device didn't shine earlier? It just made me have hard time looking through the mist!" Ari complained.

"Let's go to Ari's home?" Draggy asked, placing his left paw on his jaw.

"Oh yeah, let's!" Ari said. "But first, maybe I need to hide you so that you won't be too conspicuous when entering my house…"

"Draggy knows some good places to hide!" Draggy said. "This place is good!"

"No, it's not that you can hide somewhere outside my house. I need to hide you inside something so that my parents don't know that I'm bringing you!" Ari stroked his chin. "Maybe I can hide you inside a trash can… No, I know! I'll just hide you inside a cardboard."

"What's that?" Draggy asked.

"It's a big box. I saw a few between the trash cans when I was heading here," Ari replied. "C'mon, follow me!"

ooo

Michiko was sitting still at the counter of Yamamoto shop, chin on hands. It was fairly late now and the shop had closed a few hours ago, but it was not customers that she wanted. Ari had gone out for almost an hour, and what she expected now was her son returning home.

"I hope that nothing happened to Ari… I'm wondering why he's so late," Michiko muttered, her sight was focused on the glass doors.

Suddenly, the glass doors opened. Ari walked in, pushing a huge cardboard along.

"Ari? What's in the box?" Michiko asked. "And you just...stink a bit!"

"No, nothing! It's just a stuffed toy from an old grandma for helping her crossing the street!" Ari replied, smirking. "Uh, I stink? Well, I fell into a hole earlier..." Lying to parents was not something he liked, but he was afraid that his mom would exaggerate things when she saw the real Draggy.

Michiko chuckled. "A big stuffed toy? Hey, I thought that you didn't like that thing!"

"I just couldn't refuse a grandma's offer!"

"Good boy!"

"Yeah…"

Ari continued to push the cardboard ahead, but suddenly, there was a voice coming from the box.

"Ari, how long must Draggy stay inside here?"

"It talks! That must be a very special doll!" Michiko exclaimed, getting up. "Also, it says 'Draggy'!"

Ari gasped whilst grasping the box firmly. "Just some sort of ventriloquism!"

"C'mon, let me see it!" Michiko walked towards Ari and the cardboard.

Ari gulped and spoke rapidly, "Draggy, run quickly for Ari please!"

A child-like voice appeared from the box. "Draggy runs!"

Like a train, Ari managed to push the cardboard away quickly.

"Ari has been acting weird today…" Michiko muttered, scratching her head. "Or maybe I woke up at the wrong side of my bed…"

ooo

Toshio was sitting still at a table, reading a newspaper. Noise was non-existent in the dining room, and this was what that Toshio wanted. He could now read business articles nicely…

Thud!

Toshio closed and put the newspaper on the table. Looking towards the staircase, he saw Ari panting with a box beside him.

"Ari, what's that?" Toshio asked. "And you just smell like rubbish..."

"Just a stuffed toy!" Ari said as he continued pushing the cardboard towards a wooden door. "Oh, I also fell into a hole earlier, but nothing's broken."

Toshio got up and walked towards Ari and the box. "Can I see what is inside the cardboard?"

Ari did not answer.

Toshio chuckled. "C'mon, there's nothing wrong if you admit that you like such thing, right?"

"Um, I just need to finish my essay now!" Ari replied as he opened the wooden door. Pushing the cardboard into the room, he said, "Maybe tomorrow!"

He then slammed the door shut swiftly after entering the room.

At the same time, there were noises of sandals beating the wooden floor and a woman calling: "Ari!"

"Michiko?" Toshio asked, walking towards the staircase.

Michiko stopped in one of the steps and said, "Ari is acting strange!"

Toshio scratched his head. "Yeah, I think so. What's with that cardboard and the stuffed toy?"

"I thought I heard something speaking inside the cardboard! It also mentioned 'Draggy', Ari's favorite character in a video game!" Michiko told Toshio, her face full of confusion.

"Hmm, I think I remember Ari asking about something related to video game character appearing in real world…" Toshio replied calmly.

"You suspect that Draggy really comes alive and Ari is bringing him here?" Michiko asked.

"But Draggy… I knew that he spoke like this: Drrraggy is rrreally hungrrry!" Toshio spoke confidently, as if he were acting on a stage. "Did the sound speak with such accent?"

Michiko giggled. "Now you say it, I remember now! No, it didn't, so it isn't Draggy!"

"But maybe there's nothing wrong if I check things out later…" Toshio said, his face turning serious.

ooo

"That was close!" Ari said. "You can get out now, Draggy."

Draggy lifted the cardboard and threw it away to the bed. "Finally! Draggy is so tired inside the box!"

"Draggy! I picked up that box from piles of rubbish!" Ari shouted, running towards his bed. "You'll make my bed dirty!"

"What's a bed?" Draggy asked.

"Uh, a thing that we can sleep on," Ari answered, picking up the empty cardboard and placing it on the floor. _Man, this boy is truly a newborn! _For Ari, keeping Draggy with him would be a challenge. Ari himself had never even had any experience with pets or young children.

"Can Draggy sleep there?" Draggy questioned.

_Maybe I have to keep him happy...but with some restrictions!_ Ari then answered, "Of course, but don't burn anything! Now I'm gonna take a bath…then I need to finish my homework… The deadline is Saturday because tomorrow we have sports, so we won't be entering classes."

"Homework? What's that?" Draggy questioned, his head tilting to the side.

Ari chuckled. "Er, well, because you don't know about school, maybe you won't understand it yet!"

"School?" Draggy asked again.

_So curious for so young... _Ari smiled."School is where I learn to know many things."

"Can Draggy go there? Draggy wants to learn new things too!"

"Uh, I'll think about it..."

Suddenly, Ari heard several knocks on the door.

Ari whispered to Draggy, "Draggy, this must be my parents! Go hide somewhere! Maybe under the bed?"

"In that hole?" Draggy asked, pointing at the bed.

"Yes, and don't make noise!" Ari said.

Draggy nodded and walked towards Ari's bed and crawled into the hole below it.

There were several knocks again. Calmly, Ari replied, "Come in."

The wooden door was open, and Toshio walked in.

"Huh? Where's that stuffed toy?" Toshio asked.

"I decided to get rid of it. It's a creepy thing, so I just threw it out of the window!" Ari answered rapidly. _Was this a good lie anyway? I sounded like a jerk._

"I see… A talking doll is scary, isn't it? But throwing it out of the window just seems to be...too mean for me," Toshio smiled before turning around. "Night!"

Seeing his father walking out of the bedroom and closing the door, Ari let out sigh of relief. _It's not an easy job to keep a dragon in a house…_ "Draggy, stay in there until I return, okay?"

A child-like voice emerged from beneath the bed. "Can Draggy sleep now? Draggy is tired…"

"Of course! Night then!" Ari answered, smiling. _Good, so now I can take a bath and work on my essay._

He turned around and opened the door silently. As he walked out of the room, he saw Michiko was about to go down the staircase.

"Mom, why are you going down to the shop?" Ari asked.

"Oh, it's you, Ari!" Michiko replied. "I'm just thinking of taking a loaf of bread and butter from the shop below so that I can make chicken sandwiches for your breakfast and lunch tomorrow."

"I love that! I want five sandwiches for tomorrow!" Ari said. Obviously, he was trying to find a way to give Draggy some food.

"Huh? That's so unusual of you! I thought you could only have at most two for lunch," Michiko said, her head tilting to the side.

"Oh, well, tomorrow we do sports for almost the entire morning, so I may be more hungry than usual," Ari replied. _Yet another lie for today…_

"Okay, fine. I'll do it," Michiko said as she went down the staircase.

ooo

It was now Friday at Shinjuku. The sun had risen on the east and brightened the entire city. Its yellowish white light passed through the window of Ari's room.

Draggy opened his eyes. Silently, he crawled out of the hole and stood up. Looking through the window, he shouted, "It's morning! Ari! It's morning!"

No answer. Draggy turned around only to find out that Ari was sleeping, his saliva trickling down his gaping mouth.

Walking towards the bed, Draggy said aloud, "Ari wakes up! Let's play!"

No response. _But it's morning…and Draggy has slept enough…_ The dragon grabbed Ari's legs and dragged him down the bed. At the same time, Ari snapped open his eyes in shock as his head hit the wooden floor.

"Draggy! What are you doing? It's still very early!" Ari yelled.

"Play…?" Draggy asked, releasing Ari's legs.

"But I must go to school… Well, I guess it's good that you've woken me up pretty early, so that I won't be late!" Ari said, getting up. "Now, can you stay under the bed again until I return? I must take a bath now."

"Draggy will do!" Draggy exclaimed as he crawled into the hole below Ari's bed.

ooo


	3. The Only One?

FELLOWSHIP

Main author: Guile Mustang

Co-authors: Legendary Biologist, DarkHorse26

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything except the OCs.

ooo

**CHAPTER 3: The Only One?**

Ari was now on red t-shirt and white shorts, which were his sport uniform in Shinjuku Elementary. He was crouching, cutting a small rectangular hole on the dirty cardboard with a small penknife.

Standing beside Ari, Draggy blinked. "What is Ari doing?"

"Just making a hole here, so that you can see everything when walking," Ari replied. "I've decided to bring you to school."

"School! Draggy goes to school!" Draggy shouted happily, his wing-like extensions on his head fluttering.

_Hopefully I'm making the right decision… Or I'll be in a trouble!_ Ari stood up and put the knife on the computer desk. "Draggy, now hide inside this box like yesterday."

"Draggy will do!" Draggy said, walking towards the cardboard.

Ari lifted the box and covered the dragon with it. "Can you see anything?"

"Draggy sees many things."

"Good. Let's go to school now!" Ari said, taking his unzipped grey backpack from the wooden chair of the desk.

After wearing the backpack, Ari pushed the cardboard towards the wooden door of his room. "Don't do anything other than walking for this time."

He opened the door and pushed the box out of the room. As he closed the door, he whispered, "Stay there and keep quiet!" He then ran towards the dining table, where a red lunch box was.

Ari picked up the lunch box. _Hopefully mom made at least five sandwiches…_ Opening the lid, he saw that there were three sandwiches. _I guess I'll have to eat at the canteen after the sport lesson! _After closing the lid of the lunch box, he put it inside his backpack and zipped the bag.

Turning to the cardboard where Draggy was, Ari said, "Let's go! I don't wanna be late!"

ooo

Toshio was sitting at the counter, packing a few loaves of bread into a plastic bag before giving the bag to the female customer in front of him.

Smiling, he said, "Thank you. Come again!"

The customer nodded and walked out of the shop with the plastic bag.

_Not bad… This is the fifth customer since the shop is open!_ Toshio chuckled. He wished to have more clients than this, but five was just fine, given that he opened the shop about an hour ago. For him, something was better than nothing, and his mind drifted momentarily. He imagined himself wearing a black tuxedo and a top hat, smoking while holding a huge bag of money in his left hand. _Maybe one day I'll be filthy rich!_

All of a sudden, a thud came from Toshio's right side, snapping him back to his senses. Turning towards the source of the sound, he saw Ari pushing a grimy cardboard with a rectangular hole on its front side.

"Ari? You haven't thrown away that box too?" Toshio asked. "And what's with that hole?"

"I'll be throwing it away on my way to school. It's still quite early…" Ari answered while pushing the cardboard.

_Something smells fishy… Is he pretending not to know about the hole? Or maybe he's hiding something? _ Toshio thought, stroking his chin. _I'll have to check about it later._

ooo

Although the hole was small, Draggy could see a lot of buildings standing further in front of him. Some of them were tall, but most of them were only about twenty meters tall. Also, there were many people standing before a few traffic lights not so far from his current sight.

_So many houses… Draggy wants to know how they look like! _"Ari, can Draggy get out now?"

"Just stay inside the box. We may be in a trouble if people at school see you," Ari replied. His voice grew calm, but sounded like he was kidding. "At least, a walking box is not as strange as a dragon…"

Draggy walked. Thanks to the hole that Ari created a while back, he was able to walk past a few blocks of buildings without bumping against the lamp posts.

Soon, as he got closer to the crowded junction, he heard Ari saying: "Stop! It's red light! Wait for a moment."

Draggy halted and asked, "Why wait?"

"It's a rule," Ari replied.

"Rule? Draggy doesn't know any rules…"

"Rules are what you must obey and there will be punishments for the ones who disobey them. For example, if you try to cross the streets when the light is red, something scary will happen! Oh, yeah, what I tell you to do are also rules, and you have to obey me!"

"If Draggy doesn't, something scary will happen?"

Ari chuckled. "Something like that. I'll be very angry…and that is something scary!"

Ding!

The red light went off; the green light was on.

"Now, walk," Ari said.

Draggy walked to the other side of the street, where he could now see iron fences in front of him.

"This is my school," Ari said. "Now, turn left and then right…and you're there."

Draggy turned left and walked until he spotted an opening on his right side. He then turned and entered the school.

"Now, follow my direction. Turn right and then left, and walk ahead until I say 'stop'!" Ari whispered. "Eh, and remember to keep quiet!"

Draggy followed Ari's instructions. He turned right, walked a few steps, and then turned left. He walked ahead until what on his sight was a stone wall.

_Things look darker here… Draggy can't walk past this wall, but Ari told Draggy to keep quiet…_

"Stop!" Ari's voice came from behind Draggy.

Draggy stopped walking.

"Now, you can get out, but keep that box with you." Ari continued, with a voice that was as soft as a mouse's. "If other people see you, stay inside!"

Draggy lifted the cardboard and put it down beside him. Turning around, he saw Ari holding a lidless lunch box.

"Well, I bring some food today." Ari took out three sandwiches from the lunch box and handed them to Draggy.

Draggy grabs the sandwiches. "Food? Something that Draggy can eat?"

Ari smiled. "Of course. You must be hungry, right?"

Draggy stacked the sandwiches and took a big bite. Chewing what he had chomped, he felt the saltiness and sweetness of the chicken, butter, and bread. "Yummy!"

"I must leave now. So, you stay here until I come back," Ari said. "Don't try to go away because I can know where you are all the time with my gadget!" He turned around and walked away. "See ya!"

Draggy was too busy munching the sandwiches. He did not even hear what Ari had just said, nor did he know that Ari was going away. He kept chewing the food. Then he swallowed, licking his lips afterwards.

"Draggy wants more!" Draggy said, looking ahead. "Ari? Where's Ari?"

No answer. The wing-like extensions on Draggy's head wilted. "Draggy doesn't like being alone… Ari, come back!"

But still, there was no answer. Saddened, Draggy turned around and looked at the cardboard limply. He was now like a wilting tree. _Draggy just wants to be with Ari…_

Suddenly, Draggy thought of an idea. _Draggy will go find Ari!_ He picked up the cardboard and covered himself with it. However, his vision went black as he did not know that the box was the other way round. _Can't see anything… Draggy will just make a hole. _He punched and tore an opening, which enabled him to see what was outside.

Turning around, Draggy began running. He ran past the dark yard fast, and stopped when he was on a large open field. There was a stone building with many wooden doors, but Draggy simply turned away as the hallway was empty. His focus was now on the students with red t-shirts and white shorts further in front of him. They were all standing on the range, forming a line. In front of them, there was a long-haired woman with some batons in her hands.

The woman shouted, "Today you'll do a relay race, but before that, you all have to do some warming-up exercises!"

"Yes, Mrs. Satoko!" the students replied.

"Now, walk on the spot!"

"Yes, miss!"

_Draggy must not be seen by anybody… Draggy will just go to this house!_ He turned around and walked towards the stone building. Stopping in front of the door, he lifted the box a little bit, revealing his face a little. _How can Draggy go inside?_

Draggy covered himself with the cardboard, thinking what he should do. Sure, he still did not know many things about a door, but… _Draggy knows! Draggy saw Ari opening a door this morning!_

He stood up, lifting the box with his body. He reached out his left paw and grabbed the doorknob. _Um… Draggy thinks this thing must be pulled out…_ With full force, the dragon pulled the doorknob, sending him flying backwards a bit as well.

The metallic doorknob fell to the ground with a clang. However, the door was still there, not budging even a bit. _Maybe this door is different… _Draggy covered himself with the cardboard and turned around.

Before he could walk away, he heard a man's voice shouting: "Hey, you! What have you done to the door? Although that class is having a computer lesson, you mustn't break the stuffs!"

Draggy turned to the source of the voice. In front of his sight, there was a bald old man standing with his arms crossed. His glasses were thick like what a nerd would wear. Wearing a black coat and trousers, he was more like a groom than an employee at school…

"Who are you?" Draggy asked.

"Don't you know who I am? I am the principal of this school, Hiroshi Hashimoto!" Hiroshi yelled. "You're supposed to call me 'sir'!"

"Sir…? Maybe sir wanna play with Draggy?" Draggy asked.

"What the heck?" Hiroshi's brow twitched. "Now I doubt that you're really a student. Take off that cardboard now!"

"Ari told Draggy not to… And that is a rule!" Draggy said confidently.

"There is no rule of ignoring what a principal says!" Hiroshi yelled even louder, walking towards the box. "If you don't take that off, I'll do it by myself!"

"Draggy will do it then," Draggy said, lifting the cardboard. He then threw it at Hiroshi, who tripped upon dodging the box. Looking at the principal falling flat on his back, he laughed and reached out his left hand. "I am Draggy! Nice to meet you."

Hiroshi's eyes widened. Pointing at Draggy, he stuttered, "A m-m-monster!"

"Monster?" Draggy asked, his head tilting to the side.

"Yes, you are…A MONSTER!" Hiroshi screamed, getting up. He turned around and ran away quickly, as if there were a tiger chasing him.

"But…" Draggy suddenly thought of how Ari would react if he found out about this. _Ari will be angry… This isn't what Draggy wants!_

What in Draggy's mind now was escaping to hide this mistake. He turned away and spread his wings. _Draggy will hide somewhere so that nobody can see Draggy… _With that, he jumped and flapped his wings rapidly, propelling him away from the school building.

ooo

Although the A class was often known as the best class at Shinjuku Elementary, this did not apply on 6A. Without a teacher, all the students were like having a party in the class. Most of them were chatting, while the others were screaming and running around the class. However, there were a few students that knew how to spend time wisely. One of them was Chikara Jikan, who was sitting still at his desk, reading a history textbook.

Under his desk, there was a small white creature with a miniature ray gun tied on his back. A transparent cyan helm covered his round bald head. He looked a bit like an astronaut.

The creature whispered, "No teacher?"

Chikara looked down and replied, "Maybe he's absent today, Starky."

"It's really boring…" Starky wagged both of his tiny red hands. "I don't get to hear anything interesting here!"

Chikara smiled. He was lucky that Starky was small, and he could just let the little alien listen to lessons without much hassle. However, he had to ignore the teasing by other students whenever he took Starky out from his bag. Bringing a 'stuffed toy' inside his bag had earned him a title 'girly boy'.

"I'll find a book-" Chikara said.

However, a loud voice of a man suddenly reverberated. "Attention please! There is a monster spotted in our school! For everyone's safety, class is disbanded!"

In a flash, all the students who were running before, returned to their seats and began packing their things. "No class! Yay!"

"This is really strange…" Chikara muttered, running his fingers through his black, messy hair.

"Hey, Chikara! Do you think that it's possible for someone like me to be here?" Starky asked. "I think I feel there's something that is just like me… It's around this building."

"Perhaps…" Chikara answered, closing the history textbook and putting it into his schoolbag. "But I can't say for sure."

He picked Starky up and put him inside the bag. "Let's go home!"

Starky blinked. "Uh, Chikara… Mind if you don't zip your bag too tightly? That feeling interests me."

"Fine, but it's the best if you remain silent inside. It won't be a good idea if people see you…" Chikara replied, zipping his schoolbag but not until everything was entirely shut.

ooo

Ari stood amidst a group of students and teachers, who were listening to the trembling Hiroshi stuttering: "I s-see t-that yellow m-m-monster with my own eyes! It also t-t-talks!"

_A yellow monster at school? Is it Draggy? _Ari wondered, but was cut short upon hearing the other students making fun of the principal.

"I think you need to have a break, sir!"

"Yeah, or maybe you've been watching too many fantasy movies, sir!"

"Y-you all! Why can't you even show respect to a principal?!" Hiroshi yelled. "What I say is real!"

_This can't be wrong anymore. It must be Draggy!_ Ari turned around and walked away from the pavement of the building.

Soon, Ari decided to run instead of walking. He hated to imagine what would happen if everybody found out that Draggy had been messing around. The dragon might just end up getting imprisoned, or perhaps sent to a research. Or worse, people might call some military backups to shoot down Draggy.

_I don't want to lose Draggy… I don't want to be alone!_ Ari said, his eyes growing wet. _I'll find and hide him so that nobody knows!_

As he was running, he suddenly bumped into a boy. The impact sent them falling to the ground, flat on their backs.

A childlike voice emerged from beneath. "Chikara, you've squished me!"

Chikara immediately stood up. "Sorry… But hey, you promised to keep quiet!"

Ari's eyes widened. The voice sounded much like Draggy, but something was weird. So far the dragon only knew Ari, nobody else. Also, Draggy was too big to fit in the bag. _But this is Chikara Jikan from 6A… The best class at school… I think it'll be okay if I ask him._

Getting up, Ari asked, "Uh, I have a question…"

"Go ahead," Chikara replied, smiling.

"About what is in your bag..." Ari said. "Sorry, but I just...suspect that it isn't something from our world... Uh..."

Ari was unable to continue speaking. He was afraid that Chikara would not be happy if he asked that.

"I can't really tell you, but yes, you're right," Chikara replied. His smile had faded and turned into a gloomy look on his face. "It is actually a video game character. Do you believe in me?"

Ari nodded. "You're not the only one who has a character in the real world. I also have it."

"Well, maybe it's better if we talk about this at the backyard," Chikara said, turning around. "Let's go!"

Ari eagerly followed Chikara. He believed in the boy from 6A, for he shared the same experience. Both of them were not willing to let many people know about the video game characters, while each of them had one as their friend. Together, they walked past a few trees and smaller buildings, before turning left to a dark 'alleyway'.

"Nobody will hear us here," Chikara said.

"Now, can we talk about the previous topic? " Ari asked softly.

"I'm hiding Starky in my bag."

"That little alien?" Ari asked, his brows drawing together.

Chikara put down his schoolbag. After unzipping the bag, he whispered, "It's safe here, so just come out."

Starky's head popped out of the bag. Blinking, he asked, "Um, who are you, mister in red?"

_Mister…in red?_ Ari could not help but smile. "I'm Ari Yamamoto. Just call me Ari."

Starky then jumped out of the bag, landing on the dirt floor afterwards. "I'm Starky. Nice to meet you."

"I forgot to introduce myself..." Chikara said. "I'm Chikara Jikan from 6A."

Ari turned Chikara. "I'm wondering if I can find Draggy…"

"So, you have Draggy… I'm not sure but… By any chance Draggy was the one who made a mess at school earlier?" Chikara asked.

"Honestly…" Ari's voice grew quieter. "…yes, it was Draggy."

"Hmm… He's also from the game…" Chikara stroked his chin. "Starky, I thought you said feeling something similar to you earlier."

Starky chuckled. "Why not? Data gives different feels."

"Data? You mean all of you are just data?" Ari asked.

"Sort of. Well, what's the matter with that?" Starky questioned, smiling.

"But…no! You all are equal to us!" Ari yelled. It was still hard for him to accept that Draggy was just a data.

"Data or not, actually, I don't really care!" Starky replied. "We may just be half data, half living creature...or something like that."

"Anyway, you want to find Draggy, right?" Chikara asked.

"Yeah," Ari said.

Chikara took out a white gadget from the pocket on his trousers. "Do you have this gadget?"

"I bring it here even!" Ari answered, putting his bag on the dirt floor before bending down to unzip it.

"Good then," Chikara said. "It actually can lead you to where Draggy is. Just like mine, it can lead to where Starky is."

_Uh, I was so panicked that I forgot what this gadget was for… I can locate Draggy with this!_ Ari took out his red gadget from his schoolbag and looked at the monitor. A small red arrow moved in circles, and suddenly stopped. "It was pointing to the south… Draggy is somewhere around the field."

"Yeah, and I can help you find him," Starky said.

Ari smiled as he zipped his schoolbag, with his gadget still in his right hand. "Thanks, Starky."

"I'll be coming too," Chikara said as he also hunched to zip his schoolbag. "You lead the way, Starky, but don't let too many people see you out there!"

"I think there aren't many people around the school now," Ari said.

Starky turned around and walked away. Carrying their schoolbags, Ari and Chikara followed from behind. The three walked out of the backyard and reached the open field of Shinjuku Elementary. Fortunately, there were only a few people wandering around. Some of them were chatting, giving Ari the idea that they would pay less attention to their surroundings.

Starky did not stop walking. Although it was strange, Ari was not skeptical. If Starky were really data, he could be relied on to look for the same being. After walking for about a mile, they arrived in front of a small stone shack.

"I feel that Draggy is inside," Starky said.

_I thought Starky would be suitable for this job but…I'm not sure that Draggy is inside the shed of the school!_ Ari looked at the monitor of his gadget, where there was a red X on the center.

"What do you get from your gadget?" Chikara inquired.

"We'll check the shed," Ari replied, walking towards the wooden door of the shack. He gasped as he saw that the doorknob was missing.

"Ari?" Chikara asked.

"Draggy might have broken the doorknob… The good thing is, we can enter the shed easily," Ari said, pushing the door open. _But the bad thing is that Draggy is a vandal._

Inside, it was bright only because of the sunlight entering through the only window of the shed. Webs were on the corners of the room. Also, there were a lot of dusty wooden tables and chairs, piling up into a mountain. On top of it, there was Draggy, who was sitting limply like a dying tree.

"Draggy!" Ari called out loud, running towards the pile of furniture.

Draggy turned. Suddenly, his formerly wilting posture was replaced with an upright pose. Jumping down, he shouted, "Ari!"

Ari immediately caught Draggy, but was forced to fall on his back due to Draggy's weight.

"Draggy scared a man. Then, Draggy ran because Draggy was afraid that Ari would be angry," Draggy said. "But Draggy misses Ari so much when hiding."

Hugging Draggy tightly, he muttered, "Don't ever do such thing again, okay? I'm so worried about you!"

"Um, Ari…" Chikara said. "I'm sure that Draggy is smaller in the game!"

Ari looked up at Chikara. "Oh, well, it's my wish earlier."

"Strange thing…" Chikara scratched his head. "But I think you should find a good hiding place for Draggy. He's not like Starky, who's so small that he can pretend to be a doll…"

Ari pushed Draggy away and got up. "Where?"

"Maybe we can find one around Shinjuku Park," Chikara replied. "I heard there's an abandoned shack around. Since it's hard to find that place, when we're there, let's split up."

Meanwhile, Draggy walked towards Starky. Bringing his snout close to Starky's right arm, he sniffed the little white creature.

Feeling ticklish, Starky laughed. "Hey, that tickles!"

"You smell like Draggy…" Draggy said, rearing back. "Starky is your name?"

"Yeah!"

"Wanna play?"

"Sounds fun!"

Ari's voice suddenly came from behind Draggy. "Sorry to interrupt you two… Maybe you all can play later after we find a good place for you!"

Draggy turned to Ari. "Really?"

"Of course!" Ari replied.

ooo

Inside a dim room, a loud beep resounded.

"Foreign Being detected," Ami said.

Chisiki, who was standing at the corner of the room, clenched his fists and teeth. _Another one again… Damn, I will soon start a project to eliminate all of them!_

"Launch a tracer, Ami!" Chisiki shouted.

Ami typed on the keyboard rapidly. After countless clicking sounds, a moderately big red circle appeared on the square-filled wall.

"The Foreign Being is Realizing at Shinjuku Park," Ami reported.

_Aliens! You'll soon learn that messing up with me is a big mistake! _With that, Chisiki silently walked away with a pouty face.

ooo

The field was green with palisades of trees towering around it. Guile was standing with arms crossed, his back leaning against a tree.

_Is fighting the only way to be stronger? Or is it Yoshino who holds the key to strengthen me?_

For Guile, this question had yet to be answered. If he could find the answer, then he would find the power he was looking for.

All of a sudden, mist surrounded the area.

Guile jumped to the air and looked down. Despite the area being foggy, he could see normally._ I can sense it. Another being from my world is emerging._

Amidst the mist, a small column of light shone. A pair of clawed arms gripped the soil around the portal of light. Then, a tall green figure jumped to the sky, and landed on the ground with two feet. In front of the creature, a girl stood, holding a glowing device.

_Yoshino!_ Now was not the time to confirm whether fighting was the way to grow stronger or not. A creature from the other world would kill an unarmed human easily, and Guile would hate to see it happening to Yoshino. He was still willing to learn whether Yoshino was able to make him grow stronger or not, and without the girl, he would never know about it. Instinctively, Guile swooped down and rammed the creature, knocking it down. He then landed in front of Yoshino.

"You're just on time, Guile. Finish off this Snibgoblin and take his data!" Yoshino said, her face not showing any signs of fear.

For Guile, it was weird to see such a daring girl. Yoshino did not tremble even a bit, despite knowing that the Snibgoblin might kill her easily.

"Yoshino, you should find a safe place to stand," Guile said.

Without answering, Yoshino ran towards a tree not so far from her current position.

A loud roar echoed. Guile turned, watching the Snibgoblin getting up. With its right clawed arm at front, the Snibgoblin charged.

Guile jumped aside, dodging everything but a sharp nail. It grazed his right arm, leaving a small cut. _Such light injury is not an obstacle for me. It will be gone only in a few minutes. _Turning, he saw the Snibgoblin braked and turned, ready to strike again.

Standing still, Guile watched the Snibgoblin rushing with its right arm pulled back. The creature was getting closer and closer to him, but he remained on his position like a statue.

Sharp claws came, but Guile had leapt to the air and dodged them entirely. While the Snibgoblin turned to him, Guile looked at Yoshino, who was standing beside a tall tree.

"Yoshino, use Strengthen!" Guile called out.

Yoshino nodded and took out a red chip. Swiping it along the long slim slot of her dark blue gadget, she shouted, "Element Swipe! Strengthen!"

Red light engulfed Guile as his muscles tensed. His breathing rate increased as well. He did feel like his heart and head ached a bit, but he believed that the air around him did not seem to yield any hindrance to him. He was physically stronger now, although the surge of energy was about to break past the limit he could handle.

Another roar. Guile turned to the source of the noise. The Snibgoblin jumped with its right claws at front. Guile dodged the incoming attack, whipping around quickly and grabbing the Snibgoblin's right arm. He spun, before releasing the creature and sending it crashing into a tree.

Looking at the creature trying to get up on its feet, Guile remained still on air to calm down. Slowly, he felt like his strength boost was fading away. Then, his breathing rate was slowing down. Slowly, the painful throbbings on his heart and head faded.

He then inserted his right hand into his left sleeve. He pulled out a silver staff and then threw it at the Snibgoblin, who was getting up. As the rod was flying across the air, it replicated into two, four, and eight.

"Transform!" Guile roared.

The staves transformed into swords and whizzed towards the Snibgoblin. The creature leapt to the air and brought its arms covering its body. However, the swords easily pierced through its defense and tore its flesh. The Snibgoblin roared in pain as its legs began to disintegrate into shining particles. Soon, his body, arms, and finally head, followed the disintegration.

Guile flew towards the shining molecules. "Loading data." Upon saying that, Guile saw the glimmering particles began flying towards him.

As the small objects entered his body, he heard Yoshino saying: "Grow stronger, Guile. You deserve it."

Guile nodded. Soon, he had absorbed all the particles. However, he felt like there was something missing. Although the Snibgoblin's data was now in his body, he did not feel that he was stronger. He landed at the spot where he destroyed the Snibgoblin and snapped his fingers. The swords glowed and merged into one, yielding a silver staff.

Picking up his staff, he said in his mind, _Fighting is not the way. Or perhaps, the Snibgoblin does not provide significant amount of data for me._

"There's nothing left here," Yoshino said, walking away. "Let's go home."

Guile tossed his rod into his left sleeve and turned around. True, there was nothing left. Even the fog had cleared. However, Guile felt a light vibration in his head.

"Yoshino, I sense something," Guile said.

Yoshino stopped and turned to Guile. "What?"

"I sense a being consisting of data nearby," Guile replied.

"There is another?" Yoshino blinked. "But the mist has cleared…"

"Perhaps the being has stayed in the real world long enough, though there is a possibility that the being is small," Guile said. "Only a larger being that has just arrived in the real world can conjure up a fog bank."

"Guile, I want you to find and attack the being you mentioned. It may give me better experience in battles. You can get stronger too," Yoshino responded.

"I shall find it." Guile turned around and jumped to the air.

He glided past embankments of trees, and stopped when he heard some noises. He flew and landed on a tree branch. Hiding himself behind the leaves, he looked down, where he could see a boy and a yellow dragon walking together.

_This must be it! _Guile said to himself, glaring at them.

He remained as silent as a statue while listening to the conversation between the boy and the dragon.

"Draggy, I'm sure that the shack will be a nice place!" the boy said.

"Will Ari stay with Draggy there?" Draggy asked.

"No!" Ari replied aloud. "I'm sorry, but my parents will be very worried if I don't come home."

"But Draggy doesn't like being alone…"

"Don't worry, I'll always visit you after school with lots of food!"

"Yay!"

_Ari cares for Draggy…_ Guile smiled. He had never felt so warm in his life. Although he did not know Ari and Draggy, he could feel the warmth coming from the two. _Yoshino… I wonder if she cares for me. Perhaps care is something that I have to receive in order to grow stronger._

ooo


End file.
